Method and system for providing set-top box remote access functions in a browser extension based on advertising metadata

ABSTRACT

A method and a system for providing remote set-top box access functions in an Internet browser extension based on advertisement metadata is disclosed. A meta-data tag associated with an advertisement embedded on a currently viewed web page is scanned. It is determined that the meta-data tag is related to entertainment content. A media manipulation action for the entertainment content is determined. A notification that the media manipulation action is available for the entertainment content is displayed. Controls to store the media manipulation action on a user account are provided, and the manipulation action is stored to the user account.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/730,757, filed Jun. 4, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/050,775, filed Mar. 18, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No.9,076,144), which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to communications networks, andmore particularly relates to remote access of a set-top box.

BACKGROUND

Users often encounter references to entertainment content while browsingweb pages such as news stories, blog entries, and the like. For example,the user might read a news story about a television show. If the user isinterested in recording that television show, they typically have tomanually set their digital video recorder (DVR). Alternatively, if theuser has a DVR offering remote Internet access capability, the user cannavigate to a remote access web application to schedule the recording.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an Internet Protocol Television(IPTV) network;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary screen shot of a web page scanned by a webbrowser plug-in:

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for installing a browser extensionfor remote access to a set-top box device;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for displaying a notification that amedia manipulation action is available for a specific entertainmentcontent;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for sending a media manipulationaction for a specific entertainment content to a set-top box device; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a general computer system.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments. However, it should be understood that this class ofembodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous usesof the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in thespecification of the present application do not necessarily limit any ofthe various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply tosome inventive features but not to others.

FIG. 1 shows an IPTV system 100 including a client facing tier 102, anapplication tier 104, an acquisition tier 106, and an operations andmanagement tier 108. Each tier 102, 104, 106, and 108 is coupled to oneor both of a private network 110 and a public network 112. For example,the client-facing tier 102 can be coupled to the private network 110,while the application tier 104 can be coupled to the private network 110and to the public network 112 such as the Internet. The acquisition tier106 can also be coupled to the private network 110 and to the publicnetwork 112. Moreover, the operations and management tier 108 can becoupled to the public network 112.

The various tiers 102, 104, 106 and 108 communicate with each other viathe private network 110 and the public network 112. For instance, theclient-facing tier 102 can communicate with the application tier 104 andthe acquisition tier 106 via the private network 110. The applicationtier 104 can also communicate with the acquisition tier 106 via theprivate network 110. Further, the application tier 104 can communicatewith the acquisition tier 106 and the operations and management tier 108via the public network 112. Moreover, the acquisition tier 106 cancommunicate with the operations and management tier 108 via the publicnetwork 112. In a particular embodiment, elements of the applicationtier 104 can communicate directly with the client-facing tier 102.

The client-facing tier 102 can communicate with user equipment via aprivate access network 166, such as an Internet Protocol Television(IPTV) network. In an illustrative embodiment, modems such as a firstmodem 114 and a second modem 122 can be coupled to the private accessnetwork 166. The client-facing tier 102 can communicate with a firstrepresentative set-top box (STB) device 116 via the first modem 114 andwith a second representative set-top box device 124 via the second modem122. The client-facing tier 102 can communicate with a large number ofset-top boxes over a wide geographic area, such as a regional area, ametropolitan area, a viewing area, or any other suitable geographic areathat can be supported by networking the client-facing tier 102 tonumerous set-top box devices. In one embodiment, the client-facing tier102 can be coupled to the modems 114 and 122 via fiber optic cables.Alternatively, the modems 114 and 122 can be digital subscriber line(DSL) modems that are coupled to one or more network nodes via twistedpairs, and the client-facing tier 102 can be coupled to the networknodes via fiber-optic cables. Each set-top box device 116 and 124 canprocess data received from the private access network 166 via an IPTVsoftware platform such as Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition.

The first set-top box device 116 can be coupled to a first displaydevice 118, such as a first television monitor, and the second set-topbox device 124 can be coupled to a second display device 126, such as asecond television monitor. Moreover, the first set-top box device 116can communicate with a first remote control 120, and the second set-topbox device can communicate with a second remote control 128. In anexemplary, non-limiting embodiment, each set-top box device 116 and 124can receive data or video from the client-facing tier 102 via theprivate access network 166 and render or display the data or video atthe display device 118 or 126 to which it is coupled. The set-top boxdevices 116 and 124 thus may include tuners that receive and decodetelevision programming information for transmission to the displaydevices 118 and 126. Further, the set-top box devices 116 and 124 caninclude an STB processor 170 and an STB memory device 172 that isaccessible to the STB processor. In a particular embodiment, the set-topbox devices 116 and 124 can also communicate commands received from theremote controls 120 and 128 back to the client-facing tier 102 via theprivate access network 166.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 102 can include aclient-facing tier (CFT) switch 130 that manages communication betweenthe client-facing tier 102 and the private access network 166 andbetween the client-facing tier 102 and the private network 110. Asshown, the CFT switch 130 is coupled to one or more data servers 132that store data transmitted in response to user requests, such asvideo-on-demand material. The CFT switch 130 can also be coupled to aterminal server 134 that provides terminal devices, such as a gameapplication server and other devices with a common connection point tothe private network 110. In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 130can also be coupled to a video-on-demand (VOD) server 136.

The application tier 104 can communicate with both the private network110 and the public network 112. In this embodiment, the application tier104 can include a first application tier (APP) switch 138 and a secondAPP switch 140. In a particular embodiment, the first APP switch 138 canbe coupled to the second APP switch 140. The first APP switch 138 can becoupled to an application server 142 and to an OSS/BSS gateway 144. Theapplication server 142 provides applications to the set-top box devices116 and 124 via the private access network 166, so the set-top boxdevices 116 and 124 can provide functions such as display, messaging,processing of IPTV data and VOD material. In a particular embodiment,the OSS/BSS gateway 144 includes operation systems and support (OSS)data, as well as billing systems and support (BSS) data.

The second APP switch 140 can be coupled to a domain controller 146 thatprovides web access, for example, to users via the public network 112.The second APP switch 140 can be coupled to a subscriber and systemstore 148 that includes account information, such as account informationthat is associated with users who access the system 100 via the privatenetwork 110 or the public network 112. In a particular embodiment, theapplication tier 104 can also include a client gateway 150 thatcommunicates data directly to the client-facing tier 102. In thisembodiment, the client gateway 150 can be coupled directly to the CFTswitch 130. The client gateway 150 can provide user access to theprivate network 110 and the tiers coupled thereto.

In a particular embodiment, the set-top box devices 116 and 124 canaccess the system via the private access network 166 using informationreceived from the client gateway 150. The private access network 166provides security for the private network 110. User devices can accessthe client gateway 150 via the private access network 166, and theclient gateway 150 can allow such devices to access the private network110 once the devices are authenticated or verified. Similarly, theclient gateway 150 can prevent unauthorized devices, such as hackercomputers or stolen set-top box devices, from accessing the privatenetwork 110 by denying access to these devices beyond the private accessnetwork 166.

For example, when the set-top box device 116 accesses the system 100 viathe private access network 166, the client gateway 150 can verifysubscriber information by communicating with the subscriber and systemstore 148 via the private network 110, the first APP switch 138 and thesecond APP switch 140. Further, the client gateway 150 can verifybilling information and status by communicating with the OSS/BSS gateway144 via the private network 110 and the first APP switch 138. TheOSS/BSS gateway 144 can transmit a query across the first APP switch138, to the second APP switch 140, and the second APP switch 140 cancommunicate the query across the public network 112 to the OSS/BSSserver 164. After the client gateway 150 confirms subscriber and/orbilling information, the client gateway 150 can allow the set-top boxdevice 116 access to IPTV content and VOD content. If the client gateway150 cannot verify subscriber information for the set-top box device 116,such as because it is connected to a different twisted pair, the clientgateway 150 can deny transmissions to and from the set-top box device116 beyond the private access network 166.

The acquisition tier 106 includes an acquisition tier (AQT) switch 152that communicates with the private network 110. The AQT switch 152 canalso communicate with the operations and management tier 108 via thepublic network 112. In a particular embodiment, the AQT switch 152 canbe coupled to a live acquisition server 154 that receives televisioncontent, for example, from a broadcast service 156. Further, the AQTswitch can be coupled to a video-on-demand importer server 158 thatstores television content received at the acquisition tier 106 andcommunicate the stored content to the client-facing tier 102 via theprivate network 110.

The operations and management tier 108 can include an operations andmanagement tier (OMT) switch 160 that conducts communication between theoperations and management tier 108 and the public network 112. In theillustrated embodiment, the OMT switch 160 is coupled to a TV2 server162. Additionally, the OMT switch 160 can be coupled to an OSS/BSSserver 164 and to a simple network management protocol (SNMP) monitor167 that monitors network devices. In a particular embodiment, the OMTswitch 160 can communicate with the AQT switch 152 via the publicnetwork 112.

In a particular embodiment during operation of the IPTV system, the liveacquisition server 154 can acquire television content from the broadcastservice 156. The live acquisition server 154 in turn can transmit thetelevision content to the AQT switch 152 and the AQT switch can transmitthe television content to the CFT switch 130 via the private network110. Further, the television content can be encoded at the D-servers132, and the CFT switch 130 can communicate the television content tothe modems 114 and 122 via the private access network 166. The set-topbox devices 116 and 124 can receive the television content from themodems 114 and 122, decode the television content, and transmit thecontent to the display devices 118 and 126 according to commands fromthe remote control devices 120 and 128.

Additionally, at the acquisition tier 106, the VOD importer server 158can receive content from one or more VOD sources outside the IPTV system100, such as movie studios and programmers of non-live content. The VODimporter server 158 can transmit the VOD content to the AQT switch 152,and the AQT switch 152 in turn can communicate the material to the CFTswitch 130 via the private network 110. The VOD content can be stored atone or more servers, such as the VOD server 136.

When a user issues a request for VOD content to the set-top box device116 or 124, the request can be transmitted over the private accessnetwork 166 to the VOD server 136 via the CFT switch 130. Upon receivingsuch a request, the VOD server 136 can retrieve requested VOD contentand transmit the content to the set-top box device 116 or 124 across theprivate access network 166 via the CFT switch 130. In an illustrativeembodiment, the live acquisition server 154 can transmit the televisioncontent to the AQT switch 152, and the AQT switch 152 in turn cantransmit the television content to the OMT switch 160 via the publicnetwork 112. In this embodiment, the OMT switch 160 can transmit thetelevision content to the TV2 server 162 for display to users accessingthe user interface at the TV2 server. For example, a user can access theTV2 server 162 using a personal computer (PC) 168 coupled to the publicnetwork 112.

The domain controller 146 communicates with the public network 112 viathe second APP switch 140. Additionally, the domain controller 146 cancommunicate via the public network 112 with the PC 168. For example, thedomain controller 146 can display a web portal via the public network112 and allow users to access the web portal using the PC 168. Further,in an illustrative embodiment, the domain controller 146 can communicatewith at least one wireless network access point 178 over a data network176. In this embodiment, each wireless network access device 178 cancommunicate with user wireless devices such as a cellular telephone 184.

In a particular embodiment, the set-top box devices can include an STBcomputer program 174 that is embedded within the STB memory device 172.The STB computer program 174 can contain instructions to receive andexecute at least one user television viewing preference that a user hasentered by accessing an Internet user account via the domain controller146. For example, the user can use the PC 168 to access a web portalmaintained by the domain controller 146 via the Internet. The domaincontroller 146 can query the subscriber and system store 148 via theprivate network 110 for account information associated with the user. Ina particular embodiment, the account information can associate theuser's Internet account with the second set-top box device 124. Forinstance, in an illustrative embodiment, the account information canrelate the user's account to the second set-top box device 124 byassociating the user account with an IP address of the second set-topbox device, with data relating to one or more twisted pairs connectedwith the second set-top box device, with data related to one or morefiber optic cables connected with the second set-top box device, with analphanumeric identifier of the second set-top box device, with any otherdata that is suitable for associating the second set-top box device witha user account, or with any combination of these.

The STB computer program 174 can contain instructions to receive manytypes of user preferences from the domain controller 146 via the accessnetwork 166. For example, the STB computer program 174 can includeinstructions to receive a request to record at least one televisionprogram at a video content storage module such as a digital videorecorder (DVR) 182 within the second set-top box device 124. In thisexample embodiment, the STB computer program 174 can includeinstructions to transmit the request to the DVR 182, where thetelevision program(s) are recorded. In an illustrative embodiment, theSTB computer program 174 can include instructions to receive from theDVR 182 a recording status with respect to one or more of the televisionprograms and to transmit at least one message regarding the status to awireless device, such as the cellular telephone 184. The message can bereceived at the CFT switch 130, for instance, and communicated to thedomain controller 146 across the private network 110 via the second APPswitch 140. Further, the domain controller 146 can transmit the messageto the wireless data network 176, directly or via the public network112, and on to the wireless network access point 178. The message canthen be transmitted to the cellular telephone 184. In an illustrativeembodiment, the status can be sent via a wireless access protocol (WAP).

In a particular embodiment, the web portal displayed by the domaincontroller can be a remote set-top box access website that allows theuser to control different features on the set-top box devices 116 and124. The different features can include setting a television program tobe recorded, setting a reminder for a television program, scheduling aVOD movie for download, and the like. These features can be saved on theremote set-top box access website and then sent to the STB computerprogram 174 of the second set-top box device 124 to be executed. Whilethe user is accessing the remote set-top box access website, the domaincontroller 146 can display an offer to install a web browser plug-in onthe PC 168. If the user selects the offer to install the web browserplug-in, the PC 168 can receive instructions from the domain controllerto download and install the web browser plug-in.

After being installed on the PC 168, the web browser plug-in can embedthe remote set-top box access functionality of the web portal into theweb browser of the PC 168 itself, such as setting a television programto be recorded. The web browser plug-in can scan any web page accessedby the PC 168 over the public network 112 for text, objects, andadvertisement meta-data that might be related to entertainment content.The entertainment content can be VOD movies, television programs, andthe like that can be accessed by the set-top box devices 116 and 124from the IPTV system 100 and then displayed on the display devices 118and 126. The advertisement meta-data can be the hypertext markuplanguage (HTML) tag data associated with embedded advertisements, suchas banner advertisement, whereby the HTML tag data can make theadvertisements capable of being scanned for entertainment content. Theweb browser plug-in can compare the text strings and meta-data from aweb page to an entertainment content database of a backend server todetermine whether the text string and/or meta-data are associated withthe entertainment content.

The backend server can be the VOD servers 136, the live acquisitionserver 154, the video content servers 180, and the like of the IPTVsystem 100. The backend servers can store the titles of televisionprograms that can be recorded by the DVR 182 of the second set-top boxdevice 124 and the titles of VOD movies that can be downloaded by thesecond set-top box device. Upon the web browser plug-in determining thatthe text string and/or the meta-data are associated with entertainmentcontent, the web browser plug-in can determine whether there is a mediamanipulation action available for the entertainment content. The mediamanipulation action may be any action that the set-top box devices 116and 124 can perform, such as downloading a VOD, scheduling a recordingof a television program on the DVR 182, setting a reminder for atelevision program, and the like.

If the web browser plug-in determines that a media manipulation actionis available, then the web browser plug-in can notify the user that themedia manipulation action is available. The web browser plug-in cannotify the user by displaying a blinking browser toolbar icon, byhighlighting or underlining the corresponding text string, and the like.The user can select the notification, by clicking on either the blinkingbrowser icon or the corresponding text string, to set the mediamanipulation action for the related entertainment content. Uponselection of the notification, the web browser plug-in can provide theuser with media manipulation controls for the entertainment contentsimilar to those available through the remote set-top box access webportal. Upon receiving the media manipulation action, the web browserplug-in can send the media manipulation action to either the set-top boxdevices 116 and 124 and/or the remote set-top box access web portal, sothat the set-top box devices can perform the requested mediamanipulation action.

In alternative embodiments, web browser plug-in functions can beextended to include other online service interactions, such as onlinerental of digital video discs (DVDs). The web browser plug-in cancompare the text and meta-data to both television program databases andDVD movie databases. Alternatively, a separate DVD web browser plug-incan be installed for comparing the text and meta-data to only databasesof online rental of DVDs. The DVD web browser plug-in can scan web pagetext, objects, and advertisement meta-data looking for references to DVDtitles stored in an online library. If applicable DVD titles are found,the DVD web browser plug-in can provide the user with the ability to addselected DVD titles to a DVD rental queue directly from the current webpage being viewed.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary screen shot of a web page 200 that can bescanned by the web browser plug-in for entertainment content. The webpage 200 includes an address line 202, a first banner advertisement 204,a second banner advertisement 206, a web page text box 208, and a toolbar 210. The web page text box 208 can include entertainment contenttext 212, and the tool bar 210 can include a web browser tool bar icon214. As the user views the web page 200, such as anywebpage.com shown inthe address line 202, the web browser plug-in can scan the web page textbox 208 and the meta-data associated with the first and second banneradvertisements 204 and 206. The web browser plug-in can compare the textand meta-data to the entertainment content stored on the backendservers. If the text or meta-data is associated with entertainmentcontent and media manipulation actions are available for theentertainment content, the web browser plug-in can highlight orunderline the corresponding text string, such as the entertainmentcontent text 212, or make the web browser tool bar icon 214 blink asshown in FIG. 2. Upon clicking on the entertainment content text 212 orthe web browser tool bar icon 214, the user can be provided withcontrols to set the media manipulation actions for the entertainmentcontent on the set-top box devices 116 and 124.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method 300 for installing a web browserextension for remote access of a set-top box device. At block 302, anaccess request is received for a remote set-top box access website fromthe personal computer. The remote set-top box website can provide a userwith the ability to set a set-top box, on a user account, to record aspecific television program. Login information for the remote set-topbox access website is received and verified at block 304. At block 306,after the login information is verified, the user account information isdisplayed on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the remote set-top boxaccess website. The user account information can include the number ofset-top boxes associated with the user account, the option to set aset-top box to record a television program, the option to set a VODmovie for download, and the like.

An offer to install the web browser plug-in is displayed on the GUI ofthe remote set-top box access website at block 308. The offer can bedisplayed on any part of the remote set-top box access website, as apop-up window and the like. Additionally, the offer to install the webbrowser plug-in can be a clickable offer, so that the user can selectthe option to download and install the web browser plug-in by clickingon the offer to install. At block 310, a determination is made whetheror not a selection of the offer to install the browser plug-in isreceived. If the selection of the offer to install the browser plug-inis not received then the flow diagram continues at block 302 as statedabove. However, if the offer to install the browser plug-in is selected,then the browser plug-in is downloaded and installed on the personalcomputer at block 312.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method 400 for displaying anotification that a media manipulation action is available for aspecific entertainment content. At block 402, a public network isaccessed by a personal computer. A web page is displayed on the personalcomputer through a public network at block 404. At block 406, a textstring located on the web page is compared to a backend server by theweb browser plug-in. A determination is made whether text string isassociated with an entertainment content stored on an entertainmentcontent database of the backend server at block 408. If the text stringis not associated with the entertainment content stored on the backendserver, then a new text string on the web page is compared to thebackend server at block 406. If the text string is associated with theentertainment content, then a media manipulation action for theentertainment content is determined at block 410. At block 412, anotification that the media manipulation action is available on theentertainment content is displayed. The notification can be displayed asa blinking browser icon, a highlighted text string, an underlined textstring, and the like.

At block 414, a meta-data associated with an embedded advertisementlocated on the web page is compared to the entertainment database of thebackend server. A determination is made whether the meta-data isassociated with an entertainment content at block 416. If the meta-datais not associated with the entertainment content stored on the backendserver, then a new advertisement meta-data on the web page is comparedto the backend server at block 414. If the meta-data is associated withthe entertainment content, then a media manipulation action for theentertainment content is determined at block 410. At block 412, anotification that the media manipulation action is available on theentertainment content is displayed.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method 500 for sending a mediamanipulation action for a specific entertainment content to a set-topbox device. At block 502, a selection of a notification of an availablemedia manipulation action is received. The notification can be selectedby the browser icon, the highlighted text string, the underlined textstring, and the like being clicked. A GUI displaying the available mediamanipulation actions is provided at block 504. At block 506, adetermination is made whether a selection of the media manipulationaction for an entertainment content is received. If the selection of themedia manipulation action is not received, then the GUI is continuallyprovided at block 504. If the media manipulation action is received,then the media manipulation action is sent to a set-top box at block508.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system 600in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.The computer system 600 can include a set of instructions that can beexecuted to cause the computer system 600 to perform any one or more ofthe methods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computersystem 600 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g.,using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 600 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 600 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 600 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 600 may include a processor 602, e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both.Moreover, the computer system 600 can include a main memory 604 and astatic memory 606 that can communicate with each other via a bus 608. Asshown, the computer system 600 may further include a video display unit610, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathoderay tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system 600 may include aninput device 612, such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 614,such as a mouse. The computer system 600 can also include a disk driveunit 616, a signal generation device 618, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 620.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 6, the disk drive unit616 may include a computer-readable medium 622 in which one or more setsof instructions 624, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 624 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 624 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 604,the static memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during executionby the computer system 600. The main memory 604 and the processor 602also may include computer-readable media. The network interface device620 can provide connectivity to a network 626, e.g., a wide area network(WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other network.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations such asapplication specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can be constructed to implement one or more ofthe methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 624 or receives and executes instructions 624responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 626 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 626.Further, the instructions 624 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 626 via the network interface device 620.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized Accordingly, thedisclosure and the FIGs. are to be regarded as illustrative rather thanrestrictive.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description of the Drawings, various featuresmay be grouped together or described in a single embodiment for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into theDetailed Description of the Drawings, with each claim standing on itsown as defining separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance ofoperations comprising: displaying an offer to install a web browserplug-in at a web browser of equipment of a user; and responsive toreceiving a selection of the offer, providing instructions to installthe web browser plug-in, wherein responsive to being installed, the webbrowser plug-in performs operations comprising: scanning a meta-data tagof an advertisement to obtain advertisement information that describesthe advertisement, wherein the advertisement is embedded on a web pagethat is being presented at a display device; identifying entertainmentcontent that is related to the advertisement by comparing theadvertisement information from the meta-data tag with contentinformation of entertainment content stored in a database; determiningcapabilities of each of a plurality of remote set-top boxes; determiningavailability of a media manipulation action for the entertainmentcontent based on the capabilities; providing a notification forpresentation at the display device indicating that the mediamanipulation action is available for the entertainment content at one ormore of the plurality of remote set-top boxes according to thedetermining, wherein the notification comprises an icon separate fromthe advertisement, and wherein the notification is provided withoutproviding a link in the meta-data tag for access to the mediamanipulation action; providing controls for the media manipulationaction via a web portal that provides access to the remote set-top boxesand provides controls for different features of the respective remoteset-top boxes; and sending the media manipulation action to the webportal to cause performance of the media manipulation action, whereinthe icon comprises a selectable item.
 2. The device of claim 1, whereinthe controls for the media manipulation action comprise controls tostore the media manipulation action associated with a user account. 3.The device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving login information associated with the user account; andverifying the login information.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein theoperations further comprise: providing account information associatedwith the user account for presentation at the display device.
 5. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the controls for the media manipulationaction are provided responsive to selection of the item.
 6. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the icon is a browser toolbar icon.
 7. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the selectable item comprises text associated with theentertainment content.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the mediamanipulation action is selected from the group consisting of schedulinga digital video recorder recording and downloading a video on demand. 9.The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving a user selection of the item; and responsive to the receiving,providing a graphical user interface for presentation at the displaydevice adapted to receive the media manipulation action.
 10. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the content information comprises titles, andwherein the identifying of the entertainment content is performed basedon comparing the titles of the entertainment content with text stringsin the advertisement, with objects in the advertisement and with theadvertisement information from the meta-data tag.
 11. A methodcomprising: displaying, by a processing system including a processor, anoffer to install a web browser plug-in at a web browser of equipment ofa user; and providing, by the processing system, instructions to installthe web browser plug-in, responsive to receiving a selection of theoffer; wherein responsive to being installed, the web browser plug-inperforms operations comprising: comparing advertisement informationdescribing an advertisement with entertainment information of anentertainment database, wherein the advertisement is embedded on a webpage presented at a display device, and wherein the advertisementinformation is obtained from a meta-data tag of the advertisement;identifying entertainment content related to the advertisementinformation based on the comparing; determining capabilities of each ofa plurality of remote set-top boxes; determining availability of a mediamanipulation action for the entertainment content based on thecapabilities; and providing a notification for presentation at thedisplay device indicating that the media manipulation action isavailable for the entertainment content at one or more of the pluralityof remote set-top boxes, wherein the notification is separate from theadvertisement, and wherein the notification is provided withoutproviding a link in the meta-data tag for access to the mediamanipulation action; and providing controls for the media manipulationaction via a web portal that provides access to the remote set-top boxesand provides controls for different features of the respective remoteset-top boxes, wherein the notification comprises a selectable item andthe controls for the media manipulation action are provided responsiveto selection of the item, and wherein the controls for the mediamanipulation action comprise controls to store the media manipulationaction at a memory of at least one of the remote set-top boxes.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the web browser plug-in sends the mediamanipulation action to the web portal to cause performance of the mediamanipulation action.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the web browserplug-in is installed in accordance with instructions from a domaincontroller of the processing system communicating with the equipment ofthe user via a network.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thecomparing further comprises comparing the advertisement information fromthe meta-data tag with titles of the entertainment content stored in theentertainment database.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the controlsfor the media manipulation action comprise controls to store the mediamanipulation action associated with a user account.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the media manipulation action is selected from thegroup consisting of scheduling a digital video recorder recording anddownloading a video on demand.
 17. A device, comprising: a processingsystem including a processor; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitateperformance of operations comprising: providing a web portal foraccessing a plurality of media processors via a network; displaying theweb portal at a display device of equipment of a user, the equipment ofthe user thereby accessing the media processors, each of the mediaprocessors being remote from the equipment of the user; displaying anoffer to install a web browser plug-in at a web browser of the equipmentof the user; responsive to receiving a selection of the offer, providinginstructions to install the web browser plug-in, wherein responsive tobeing installed, the web browser plug-in performs operations comprising:scanning a meta-data tag of an advertisement to obtain advertisementinformation that describes the advertisement, wherein the advertisementis embedded on a web page that is being presented at the display device,identifying entertainment content that is related to the advertisementby comparing the advertisement information from the meta-data tag withcontent information of entertainment content stored in a database,determining capabilities of each of the plurality of media processors;determining availability of a media manipulation action for theentertainment content based on the capabilities, and providing anotification for presentation at the display device indicating that themedia manipulation action is available for the entertainment content atone or more of the plurality of media processors according to thedetermining, wherein the notification is separate from theadvertisement, and wherein the notification is provided withoutproviding a link in the meta-data tag for access to the mediamanipulation action; and providing, via the web portal, controls fordifferent features of the respective media processors, wherein thecontent information comprises titles, and wherein the notificationcomprises a selectable item and the controls for the media manipulationaction are provided responsive to selection of the item.
 18. The deviceof claim 17, wherein a network device comprises a domain controllercommunicating with the equipment of the user via the network, andwherein the web browser plug-in, responsive to being installed, embedsfunctionality for accessing the media processor into the web browser ofthe equipment of the user.
 19. The device of claim 17, wherein the webbrowser plug-in sends the media manipulation action to at least onemedia processor of the plurality of media processors or to the webportal to cause the at least one media processor to perform the mediamanipulation action.
 20. The device of claim 17, wherein the mediamanipulation action is selected from the group consisting of schedulinga digital video recorder recording and downloading a video on demand.